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lament in lent: on country, with country, for country

Aunty Alison Overeem and Rev Alex Sangster invite the Uniting Church community to show solidarity with creation through the lament in lent vigil, being held on country in Tasmania

March 18, 2025

This Lent, come and stand with mob on Country to support our ancient forests!

Proud Palawa woman Aunty Alison Overeem and Rev Alex Sangster invite you to join them on Country for this ‘lament in lent’, as they hold vigil amongst the Giant Styx - the ancient trees of Tasmania.

The Styx forests are centuries old tall eucalyptus forests with hollow bearing trunks and branches, upon which many species of animals and birds depend. They are under existential threat from logging.

Join us for this vigil as we stand in solidarity with our native forests and with creation, in partnership with the Bob Brown Foundation and the 'I Stand with Uncle Jim' movement. Uncle Jim Everett is a loved and respected Elder leading the fight for Tasmania's forests. He has been arrested on numerous occasions across a lifetime of unapologetic activism for Country.

"Used for export woodchips, the logging of these world heritage value forests is wasteful vandalism and it is wrong," said Erik Hayward, Campaigner for the Bob Brown Foundation. "Today, the logger’s machines must be evicted, not the citizens who are defending the remaining forests that can still be saved."

"Rainforests gullies with ancient sassafras, forests that are full of wildlife and buffers from bushfires, the remaining forests in this Styx logging coupe and all remaining native forests must be protected to avoid dangerous climate change and wildlife extinctions."

When: Thursday 3 April from 10.30am-2.30pm AEDT

Where: Approx. 1.5 hours west of Hobart (exact location on request)

Contact: Rev Alexandra Sangster – 0411292273 (Some financial assistance is available to help First Nations peoples in Tasmania attend. Contact Alex for information.)

The vigil will be filmed and made available to the Uniting Church community following the event.

Click below to download the flyer.

If you want to get the latest news from the Uniting Church in Australia then subscribe to our weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Photo Campaign #IStandWithUncJim

In the lead up to the event, express your support for Uncle Jim and the movement to protect Country by snapping a photo in front of a tree holding a sign: 'I stand with Uncle Jim'.

Post them to your socials using the hashtag #IStandWithUncJim or send them to us: comms@nat.uca.org.au.

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